superman(s)

tonight i sat and watched the final installments of Band of Brothers, steven spielbergs miniseries of the campaign fought by Easy Company in the european theater of WWII. i have been captivated by this for the better part of a week now. the film is brutal in its honesty, thoughtful in its depiction, and sincere in its message. sitting in the comfort of my living room watching a tv is a world removed from the reality that the film attempts to portray, but you cannot help but try to break down that barrier and place yourself in their world. would i have survived? men were shot because they looked in the wrong direction for half a second. would i have made that mistake? would it have broken me? i am not sure that i could answer any of those questions, and thankfully, i dont have to. the gentleman that lived this didnt have to answer it either. they didnt have the choice. they were immersed in the hell of war for 434 days, normandy to VE.
i cannot fully express the admiration, respect, and pride i have for these men; our grandparents. i think that their contribution to mankind has fallen on many deaf ears and eyes in this country, mainly amongst people my own age. too much is taken for granted, too much is abused and far too much is expected without having made a single compromise or sacrifice. no one owes me anything. i owe every single soldier of that war a thank you and a promise to make my days worthwhile of their service. if you ever meet a veteran from WWII, listen to their story, look in their eyes as they tell it to you. ive had the fortune to be able to do this several times. they are not reading a script, or remembering a book that they read. they are remembering the color of their buddies blood on their uniform and the smell of their airplane as it burnt up over germany. you can see a hallowed flame flicker in their eyes and you know it hurts them still 60 years later. what have i done to deserve that? what have you done?
it is hard to hold the world in contempt, or find a voice for cynicism behind every turn when you can appreciate every day that you have. never make the mistake of thinking that any of those days are free. a great cost has been paid to provide everyone with the chance to witness the glory and grace of the world.